Interchangeable orthopedic footwear

ABSTRACT

An article of footwear includes an outer sole having a bottom walking surface and an opposed top surface, an upper member and a zipper member connected to the outer sole and to the upper member for releasably securing the upper member to the outer sole. An orthopedic appliance is received within a cavity that is disposed within the top surface of the outer sole.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates, in general, to footwear and, more particularly, this invention relates to footwear having interchangeable outer sole and upper members and, yet more particularly, the instant invention relates to orthopedic footwear having interchangeable outer sole and upper members and an orthopedic appliance received in such outer sole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is generally well known, customization of an outer sole of the footwear to receive an orthopedic appliance in order to correct particular foot and ankle conditions of a wearer is a time consuming effort which is performed by a licensed medical practitioner. Therefore, the orthopedic footwear is associated with considerable expense due to such customization. The wearer of such customized orthopedic footwear is disadvantaged due of such expense and often forgoes the aesthetic considerations for the sake of comfort by wearing the same orthopedic footwear in different conditions. The presently available modular articles of orthopedic footwear fail to simply and easily alleviate the disadvantage experienced by the wearer of the orthopedic footwear.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved article of orthopedic footwear which enables the wearer to simply and easily modify the styles of such footwear by reusing the same outer sole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment, the invention provides an article of footwear which includes an outer sole having a bottom walking surface and an opposed top surface. There is an upper member and a zipper member connected to the outer sole and to the upper member for releasably securing the upper member to the outer sole.

According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provided an article of footwear which includes an outer sole having a bottom walking surface and an opposed top surface. There is an upper member and a zipper member connected to the outer sole and to the upper member for releasably securing the upper member to the outer sole. An orthopedic appliance is received within a cavity which is disposed within the top surface of the outer sole.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide an article of footwear.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear which has a modular construction.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear which has a modular construction enabling the wearer to interchange various styles of outer soles and upper members.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear which has a modular construction enabling the wearer to simply and easily interchange the outer sole and the upper member.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an article of footwear which has a modular construction and incorporates an orthopedic appliance.

In addition to the several objects and advantages of the present invention which have been described with some degree of specificity above, various other objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent to those persons who are skilled in the relevant art, particularly, when such description is taken in conjunction with the attached drawing Figures and with the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article of footwear of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional elevation view of the article of footwear taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1, particularly showing an orthopedic appliance;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a fastening member of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a fastening member of an alternative embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Prior to proceeding to the more detailed description of the present invention, it should be noted that, for the sake of clarity and understanding, identical components which have identical functions have been identified with identical reference numerals throughout the several views illustrated in the drawing figures.

It is to be understood that the definition of article of footwear applies to different types of footwear including but not limited to sandals, dress shows, casual shoes, boots and the like.

Reference is now made, to FIGS. 1-4, wherein there is shown an article of footwear, generally designated 10, according to a first embodiment of the invention, which includes an outer sole 20 having a bottom walking surface 22 and an opposed top surface 24. The article of footwear 10 further includes an upper member 40 having a predetermined shape and which is at least engageable with a foot 4 of a wearer. A fastening means, generally designated 50, is engageable with the outer sole 20 and the upper member 40 for securing the upper member 40 to the outer sole 20 in a releasable manner.

In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, best shown in FIG. 3, such fastening means 50 is a zipper means having a first portion 54 peripherally attached to a predetermined portion of the outer sole 20 and a second portion 56 peripherally attached to a predetermined portion of the upper member 40. It is further preferred that the zipper means 50 is an interdigitating chain 60 and each of the first portion 54 and the second portion 56 includes a plurality of elements 62 attached to a flexible tape 64 in a predetermined pattern. The elements 62 are interlocked by a slider 66 moving in one direction along the chain 60 and separated by the slider 66 moving in an opposite direction along the chain 60. As it is well known, such chain 60 may additionally include an impermeable gasket 68 for sealing the zipper means 50 when the elements 62 are interlocked. Such sealing zipper is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,644 to Brown and the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,644 are incorporated herein by reference thereto. It will be appreciated that any other type of the sealing zipper may be used in the present invention to secure upper member 40 to the outer sole 20 in a releasable manner.

Alternatively, as best shown in FIG. 4, the fastening means 50 may be a flexible zipper 70 wherein a first portion 72 and a second portion 74 are formed as a pair of continuous interlockable fastener elements. Such flexible zipper 70 may be further provided with a slider 76 movable in one direction along the zipper 70 for separating the first portion 72 and the second portion 74 thus opening the flexible zipper 70 and movable in an opposite direction along the zipper 70 for interlocking the first portion 72 and the second portion 74 for closing the flexible zipper 70.

Yet alternatively, such fastening means 50 may be a well known hook and loop fastener.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such article of footwear 10 according to the foregoing embodiments of the invention provides for a modular construction, wherein a variety of outer soles 20 and upper members 40 which may be easily and simply connected with one another thus enabling the wearer to create various styles and decrease costs associated with individually purchasing each style of footwear.

It would be appreciated that the upper member 40 may be one of a sandal top, boot, dress shoe, casual shoe and the like and the outer sole 20 may include a high heel, low heel, platform and the like.

The article of footwear 10 may be further provided with a replaceable inner sole 30 engageable with the top surface 24 of the outer sole 20 for supporting such foot 4 of such wearer.

In a particular reference to FIG. 2, the article of footwear 10 may be provided with a flap 80 hingeably connected to the upper member 40 for covering the fastening means 50 when the upper member 40 is secured to the outer sole 50. Preferably, the article of footwear 10 includes a second flap 82 hingeably connected to the outer sole 20 and engageably connected to the flap 80 with a well known loop and hook fastener 84 for covering the fastening means 50 when the upper member 40 is secured to the outer sole 20. Advantageously, the combination of the flaps 80 and 82 will cover the fastening means 50 for aesthetic considerations and will further provide sealing capabilities when such fastening means 50 is of a non-sealing type.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, best shown in FIG. 2, the top surface 24 of the outer sole 20 includes a cavity 26 forming an upstanding peripheral side wall 28 of the outer sole 20. Such cavity 26 is sized for receiving an orthopedic appliance 100 which can be replaced as desired. Preferably, a peripheral ledge member 29 is formed within an interior surface of the side wall 28 and extends towards a center of the cavity 26 for securing such replaceable orthopedic appliance 100 received within the cavity 26. It is further preferred that a material of the cavity 26 is a well known memory foam providing additional comfort to the wearer.

It will be appreciated that the orthopedic appliance 100 and the outer sole 20 adapted to accommodate such orthopedic appliance 100 are relatively expensive due a customized fit and, therefore, the present invention enables the wearer to simply and easily attach different styles of an upper member 40 to one type of the outer sole 20, thus decreasing the cost of forming various footwear styles.

Thus, the present invention has been described in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same. It will be understood that variations, modifications, equivalents and substitutions for components of the specifically described embodiments of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 

1. An article of footwear comprising: (a) an outer sole having a bottom walking surface and an opposed top surface; (b) an upper member having a predetermined shape and engageable with at least a foot of a wearer; and (c) a fastening means peripherally connected to said outer sole and to said upper member for releasably securing said upper member to said outer sole.
 2. The article of footwear, according to claim 1, wherein said article of footwear includes a replaceable inner sole engageable with said top surface of said outer sole for supporting such foot of such wearer.
 3. The article of footwear, according to claim 1, wherein said replaceable inner sole is an orthopedic appliance.
 4. The article of footwear, according to claim 1, wherein said top surface includes a cavity disposed therein, said cavity forming an upstanding peripheral side wall of said outer sole and sized for receiving a replaceable inner sole for supporting such foot of such wearer.
 5. The article of footwear, according to claim 4, wherein said article of footwear further includes a peripheral ledge member disposed within an interior surface of said side wall and extending towards a center of said cavity for securing said replaceable inner sole received within said cavity.
 6. The article of footwear, according to claim 4, wherein a material of said cavity is a memory foam.
 7. The article of footwear, according to claim 1, wherein said fastening means is a zipper means having a first portion attached to a predetermined portion of said outer sole and a second portion attached to a predetermined portion of said upper member.
 8. The article of footwear, according to claim 7, wherein said zipper means is an interdigitating chain and each of said first portion and said second portion includes a plurality of elements attached to a flexible tape, said elements interlocked by a slider moving in one direction along said chain and separated by said slider moving in an opposite direction along said chain.
 9. The article of footwear, according to claim 8, wherein said chain includes an impermeable gasket for sealing said zipper means when said elements are interlocked.
 10. The article of footwear, according to claim 7, wherein said zipper means is a flexible zipper and said first portion and said second portion form a pair of continuous interlockable fastener elements.
 11. The article of footwear, according to claim 10, wherein said flexible zipper includes a slider movable in one direction along said flexible zipper for opening said flexible zipper and movable in an opposite direction along said flexible zipper for closing said flexible zipper.
 12. The article of footwear, according to claim 1, wherein said article of footwear includes a flap hingeably connected to one of said outer sole and said upper member for covering said fastening means when said upper member is secured to said outer sole.
 13. The article of footwear, according to claim 1, wherein said article of footwear includes a first flap hingeably connected to one of said outer sole and said upper member and a second flap hingeably connected to an opposed one of said outer sole and said upper member, said first flap and said second flap engageably connected with a loop and hook fastener for covering said fastening means when said upper member is secured to said outer sole.
 14. An article of footwear comprising: (a) an outer sole having a bottom walking surface and an opposed top surface having a cavity formed therein; (b) an upper member having a predetermined shape; (c) an orthopedic appliance replaceably received in said cavity of said outer sole; and (d) a zipper means having a first portion peripherally attached to said outer sole and a second portion peripherally attached to said upper member for releasably securing said upper member to said outer sole. 